Titans at War
by Fluffbeast
Summary: 9 months ago, the Titans froze the Brotherhood of Evil and all of their accomplices. One month ago, they were unfrozen to wait trial. Last week, they escaped from UN custody. Now, the Titans go back to war with the Brotherhood. But with the involvement of the Justice League and Checkmate, the rules have changed. Welcome to the big leagues. BBRAE STARROB CYTBA
1. Chapter 1

Beast Boy woke to the sun shining in through his open window. A breeze from the sea brought in the scents of fall and the sounds of the tide churning. He knew that eventually it would be too cold to keep his window open at night and he hated that fact. Still, might as well enjoy the fresh air while he could. The changeling checked his alarm clock, 7:16 am, "Good." He said stretching. "Enough time for a quick wake-up flight before breakfast."

Swinging his legs over the side of the top level of his bunk bed, he dropped off and landed on the floor. Walking over to the screen-less window, he shifted into a cat and pounced on the ledge of the window and leapt out. He only fell for a few feet before shifting into a falcon and turned the fall into a dive. Unfurling his wings and pulling out of the dive before he hit the island, he let his mind wander as he flew around the tower.

It had been five years since he and the others had become the Teen Titans. Five very eventful years. He's been beaten, broken, fallen in love twice, betrayed, scared out of his mind, and mutated. But most importantly, he had found a family. The Doom Patrol was sort of family to him, considering he had been adopted by Steve and Rita, but he had never truly felt like he belonged.

Beast Boy shifted into a pterodactyl and started gliding down in a circle landing on the roof of the tower. The green dinosaur shifted into a green teen, who headed for the roof entrance. His time with the Titans had been good, up until two months ago. One night at their weekly karaoke night, he had changed his relationship with one of his fellow Titans forever. They had been together ever since, and now his life was great.

It had been slow, just like he knew it would, but Raven didn't lose control anymore when he kissed her. They hadn't had any make out sessions yet but he was still glad that he was able to be more physical towards her. The alarm went off from his communicator as he walked through the halls. He knew what it meant, but he checked just the same, 7:29am, "Right on time." He said with a smile, taking another flight of stairs three at a time. He emerged from the stairway into the hall leading to the Titan's sleeping chambers and made it to the door labeled 'Raven' right as it opened and the purple haired, pale skinned beauty he had fallen in love with walked into the hall.

"Good morning Gar." She said with a smile as he walked up and kissed her.

"Morning Beautiful. How did you sleep?" He pulled from their embrace and placed his hand in hers as they walked toward the common room.

"Same as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary. You?" She asked glancing at him.

"When I finally got to sleep I slept like a rock."

Raven grew a little concerned at that, "What kept you awake?"

"Missing you." He replied with a grin, bringing a blush to his girlfriend's face.

"You are a shameless flirt Garfield Logan." She said in an exasperated voice.

"Maybe, but I meant it." He gave her hand a squeeze as he said it.

Raven stopped them just short of the door to the common room and turned toward him. "I love you Gar." She said kissing him gently.

"I love you too Rae." He told her.

The pair entered the common room hand in hand and walked to the kitchen where they could hear their friends talking.

"I'm going to get some sleep Star. I will see you in a few hours." They could hear the conversation before they could see who was speaking, though they could identify Robin's voice easily.

"Very well. I will miss you Boyfriend Robin." Came Starfire's voice, "Sleep well."

Raven let go of Beast Boy's hand as they came into view of their friends, she still wasn't comfortable with showing affection around anyone but him. Cyborg was at the stove cooking, and no doubt trying to ignore the couple behind him. Robin had his back to them and was kissing Starfire. Starfire was the first to see them, "Good morning friends!" She said happily floating over to hug them both. "What a beautiful morning this is."

"Good morning Star." They both said, Beast Boy hugging her back.

Robin passed them with a yawn, "Good night all. See you in a few hours." He passed through the door before anyone could return a response.

Cyborg turned from the stove when he heard Starfire greet them. "Yo, BB, Rae, y'all want some waffles?"

"Yes please," Raven responded. "And my name is Raven, not Rae."

"When do I ever refuse waffles?" Beast Boy asked.

"Anyway," Cyborg said changing the subject. "Beast Boy, you should probably finish off that cake in the fridge or throw it away." Beast Boy, the youngest of the Titans West, had turned eighteen three days ago and the remainder of his birthday cake sat in the fridge. "I also took a message for you from a man named John Wolfman, some lawyer from New York."

"What would a lawyer from New York want with me?" Beast Boy asked curiously.

"Don't know." Cyborg responded, "But he did ask for Garfield Logan, not Beast Boy."

Both Starfire and Raven were alert now. "Dude!" Beast Boy yelled. "He called the Tower and asked for me by my civilian name?"

"Yeah." Cyborg responded. "I asked the guy if he knew where he had called and he told me that he did a lot of work with superheroes. I ran the guy through the JLA's system and he seems legit. I even ran the name by Robin. I guess he's worked with both Robin and Batman in the past." Cyborg was leaning back against the counter with his arms folded in front of him looking at Beast Boy. "He didn't say what he was calling about, just that he needed to talk to you. I took his number down so you could call him back." Cyborg gestured to the phone on the wall, below it on a table was a note pad they used for taking messages.

Raven watched Beast Boy carefully as he walked over to the message pad. She could feel dread and fear coming from him, so the empath decided to go talk to him. He stood staring at the phone as she walked over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked softly putting a hand on his shoulder.

"In my experience," he began softly, "lawyers aren't a good thing. I don't know what this guy wants, but it can't be good. I'm gonna go call him." He ripped the note out of the book and headed towards the dorms.

Raven watched him go sadly, it had been such a good morning, and now she couldn't help but feel that it was ruined. She pushed down the squirm in her stomach and went to eat with Cyborg and Starfire.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Beast Boy walked through his door and went over to his seldom used desk. Each of the Titans had phone lines in their room for private calls, but he couldn't remember the last time he had used his. He picked up his phone and dialed the number Cyborg had written down. The dial tone turned into a ring as the call attempted to go through.

A woman picked up the phone on the other end. "Good Morning, you have reached the law offices of Wolfman, Perez, and Winick, how may I help you this morning?"

"Uh, yeah," He said not really sure what to say. "I got a call from a John Wolfman. My name is Garfield Logan."

"Ah yes, Mr. Logan. Let me see if Mr. Wolfman is available, please hold." The soft sound of a piano came from the other end of the phone as the Receptionist put him on hold. When someone picked up the other end next, the a male voice said in a somber tone. "This is John Wolfman."

"Hi, Mr. Wolfman, this is Garfield Logan, you called for me earlier." Beast Boy said into the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Logan. I called because I have some bad news." Mr. Wolfman continued in a low tone. "There was an incident regarding your adoptive parents, Steve Dayton and Rita Farr. The details would best be discussed in person, but… There was an explosion off of the coast of Maine, The Doom Patrol was there. I'm sorry, but only Steve survived. He is in critical condition at Maine General Hospital…"

Beast Boy was struck speechless as the man on the other side continued speaking to deaf ears. The next few minutes were a blur for the green teen. His mind was on autopilot as he listened to the man on the other side give him a few more details, and saying that he would be going to Maine General Hospital to handle some legal paperwork for Steve, and how he hoped to see Beast Boy there.

Beast Boy gave a weak "Yeah" before hanging up the phone, and numbly leaving his room. Beast Boy felt empty, he walked through the tower not really knowing where he was going. A set of doors in front of him opened to reveal Raven looking at him with worry, behind her he could see the common room TV on with a news broadcast playing about the terrorist attack on a cruise liner.

Everything came rushing to him like a ton of bricks and he collapsed to his knees sobbing uncontrollably.

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Cyborg dished out the waffles to his teammates and put a bottle of mustard and a bottle of syrup on the table. "Come on guys, eat up." He said with enthusiasm.

Starfire took a big whiff of the pancakes in front of her, "Mmm… Cyborg these smell amazing." She picked up the bottle of mustard and started pouring it over her pancakes.

Raven was still watching the door Beast Boy left from, there was something wrong, she just knew it. Cyborg turned on the TV with the remote, "Come on Raven, they are getting cold." Cyborg turned the channel to the morning news and dug into his waffles. Still worried about Beast Boy, Raven took her seat at the table and picked at her waffles.

A few minutes later Raven felt a spike of horror come from the dormitory, she could tell it was from Beast Boy. Before she could get up to go see him, the news broadcast caught her eye.

"A cruise liner was attacked late last night by the terrorist organization known as The Brotherhood of Evil. The ship was destroyed by a large explosion, but thanks to the quick work of the group known as The Doom Patrol, most of the passengers and crew survived. As of right now, 24 casualties have been discovered among debris. The Doom Patrol has not been seen since the..." Raven tuned out the broadcast and turned to the door. She needed to get to Beast Boy.

She ran to the door and found Beast Boy standing right in front of her. His face was twisted in disbelief and agony. When he saw her he dropped to his knees crying. Raven could hear Starfire and Cyborg behind her gasp and start talking, but she didn't hear what they said. She was too concerned with the green teen in front of her. She got down on her knees and pulled Beast Boy into a hug. He was shaking from the sobs that wracked his body.

Raven had no idea what to do. She had never been in this kind of a situation before. Of course she had comforted others, but this was different. She had never before held someone while they cried, let alone the man she loved. Beast Boys emotions were peaking and washing over her at dangerous levels as he cried into her shoulder, she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her powers in check. She just hoped that whatever got broken could be fixed.

Cyborg watched the two, horribly shaken as he watched his best friend in the world completely lose it. Starfire looked over to the metal man, "I do not understand, does this have to do with the phone call?" she asked softly.

"I don't know Star," He replied in a hushed voice, "I just hope the call and the report aren't related." Starfire looked over at the TV again still showing the wreckage from the attack when she understood what Cyborg had meant.

"Yes," she whispered, "let us hope so."

The ceiling above Raven cracked with black magic, light bulbs bursting from her power. Before any glass could rain down on them she wrapped Beast Boy and herself in her power and took them out of the common room.

"I shall go awaken Robin; he will want to know what happened." Starfire said getting up and heading towards the door on foot, she wasn't sure she could fly right now.

Cyborg stood up too. "Star wait, what _is_ happening? And what can Robin do about it?" He asked, "Let's just let him sleep until we know more." Cyborg walked over to the broom closet to get the vacuum cleaner to clean up the glass.

"Very well, I suppose there is nothing to be done for now." She said, walking to the large front window instead. "They are out at the shore. Raven's powers are still, I believe the term is 'going crazy'."

Cyborg nodded, "I had a feeling that was where she took them." Cyborg started up the vacuum as he spoke. Starfire just kept her eyes on her friends her arms hugged tight to her body. She never liked when her team mates were in pain, but she hated it more when there was nothing she could do.

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Raven moved Beast Boy and herself out of the Tower as soon as she felt her powers slip. The only place that she could think of was out on the rocky coast, where they had shared their first kiss. The crying man in her arms didn't seem to be fazed by the transition, she wasn't even sure that he knew she had moved them. Little by little his crying died down, his emotions receded from her, and her powers fell under her control again. Even as he stopped shaking, he still didn't move from his perch leaning against her shoulder.

Raven was the first to speak. "Beast Boy?" she asked softly. After she got no answer she continued. "Will you tell me what happened?"

She could feel him shake his head 'No'. "Do you want me to just holding you?" She asked receiving a nod. "Would you like to go somewhere more comfortable?" He nodded again and she brought her powers over them and took them to her room, ending up on her floor. There was little light in her room due to the heavy purple curtains blocking her window. A black disc formed under them as she moved them to her bed, placing her back against the headboard and cradling his head against her chest. Had her mind not been otherwise occupied she would probably have had trouble with how intimate their position was, but now, there were more important things to worry about.

They laid there like that for the better part of an hour before Beast Boy finally spoke. "She's dead. My mother is dead, again." He said slowly.

She waited for him to continue, when he didn't she asked, "What happened?"

He tensed up a bit at the question, but he answered. "I don't know. All that lawyer told me was that there was an explosion, and the only survivor was Steve. He's in a coma in Maine. He is in a coma, Rae, and he may never wake up." He sobbed again and she felt a sharp spike of his sorrow pierce her.

Raven knew about his past, about his real parents. "I'm so sorry Gar. I'm so sorry." He sobbed a few more times before pushing himself up and away from her. He sat up on the edge of her bed, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry for losing it like that." He said weakly without looking at her. "I'm sorry I made you lose control." She could feel grief and regret running off of him.

Not really sure what to do, Raven moved herself over to sit next to him, folding her hands in her lap. "It's not your fault. I lose control sometimes, it can't be helped. I am here for you Gar; I want to help you get through this."

His hands clenched into fists, anger flooding off of him, pure bestial rage ran off of him in torrents. Raven hadn't felt anyone this angry in a long time. Not since the last time Robin was fighting Slade. "I am going to find them, Rae." His voice was little more than a growl now. "I am going to make them pay. Whoever did this, I will make them pay.

"Beast Boy," she started softly, "The news, well they seem to think the Brotherhood of Evil was behind the attack, but I don't know how," She was cut off by the angry boy.

"The Brotherhood? The fucking Brotherhood again. How the hell did they get out?" He was standing now, fists clenched at his side. He started walking toward the door, his hatred now matching his rage. A black shield stopped him from leaving, "Raven, let me out." He snarled turning back to her.

She had never seen that much rage, or pain in his eyes before, and never pointed at her. "No." he growled at her, she just stared him down. "Beast Boy, right now you are being irrational, you need to focus. I know you are in pain,"

He cut her off again. "What the hell do you know," he snarled again, "Last I checked your Father was a demon. How could you possibly know what this,"

This time she cut him off, raising her voice above his, "My father may have been a demon, but my mother was human, remember. I know what it feels like to lose a mother. I know what it feels like to feel helpless as death surrounds you. And I know what it feels like to be responsible for it all. I know what you are going through, even if our situations are different." Her voice died down to a whisper as his rage was subsiding. She could feel him calming down. "My mother is dead, along with all of the people of Azaroth. When Trigon escaped, that was his first target."

His rage was gone now and his eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god. Rae I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me." Beast Boy fell to his knees again. "I completely lost control." The black force field vanished.

"That's just another one of the perks of dating me; I understand losing control. If you think I would ever hold that against you, you are crazier than Mad Mod." Her voice had returned to its normal monotone, but she still spoke softly kneeling in front of him. She placed her hand on his cheek, lifting his face to look at her, "I love you. That hasn't changed."

She could tell he still felt guilty, but he was relaxing again. "I love you too. Thanks for talking me down."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go talk to the others. They are probably worried about you."

Beast Boy's face fell again. "Yeah. And I need to talk to Robin about going to Maine for a little while."

"Yes, _we_, do. I won't let you do this alone." She said still looking him in the eye.

He gave her a weak smile, and she could feel his relief and love for her rise, "Thanks Rae."

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Robin walked out of his room only an hour after going to lie down. Apparently sleep was not for him today. He knew he would be okay though, he had plenty of experience not sleeping. The hall was quiet as he walked back to the common room. It wasn't until he saw the damage to the ceiling by the door that he started to worry.

He walked into the common room to find Cyborg working quickly at the computer and heard someone bustling about in the kitchen. "Cyborg, what happened?" He asked, growing more concerned by his friend's stern face. He had no sooner finished his question, when he was practically tackled by Starfire flying out of the kitchen.

"Robin, something happened. I don't have all the details yet, but I think it has something to do with the Brotherhood of Evil." Cyborg said looking up at him.

"Oh Robin, it is terrible. Beast Boy was so sad, and there was nothing we could do," Starfire was talking a mile a minute and Robin was only catching a few words.

"Whoa, Starfire slow down. Start from the beginning." Starfire slowed down, and together she and Cyborg told him what had happened and what they had heard. By the end of it Robin was wearing a heavy scowl. "And the broadcast said that the Brotherhood of Evil was behind the attack?" He asked to clarify what he had heard.

"That is correct," Starfire said, "They also said that the Doom Patrol haven't been heard from since. Our friends Beast Boy and Raven have not returned from where they went. I do hope they are okay." Starfire said with worry.

"It'll be okay," Robin said gently, "So long as Raven is with him Beast Boy will be fine. Right now I am more worried about the rumor about the Brotherhood. They are supposed to be on ice still." Robin let go of Starfire and walked over to the computer. "Cyborg, can I use the computer? I need to make a call."

"Sure Rob. You need us to leave?" He asked while standing up.

"No, this is Titan business. If he can't handle that he can stick his head in an oven." Robin said with a low growl. Sitting down he brought up the communicator program and dialed in a number. A moment later, a face appeared on the screen, half covered by a black cowl with two pointed ears running straight up on either side of his head. This was Batman, Robin's mentor.

"What?" Batman asked gruffly.

"Have you seen the news? Rumor has it that the Brotherhood escaped. Have you heard anything?" Robin had expected this kind of a reception and he was prepared to deal with it. Starfire and Cyborg, who had both gathered behind the computer chair hoping to join in on the conversation, began to shift awkwardly under Batman's gaze.

"Don't worry about them. They are above your pay grade." Batman said shortly.

Cyborg kept quiet, even if he did want to rip Batman a new one, if he started yelling, it could ruin their only lead. Starfire was also angered by the Dark Knight's cutting remark, but kept silent.

The same could not be said for Robin. "Above my pay grade?" He growled out. "Are you forgetting the year we spent fighting them? Did you forget who captured them to begin with? You know something, I thought you might, but you just confirmed it. What is going on?" Robin's voice was raised and he had stood up, leaning over the desk and pushing back the wheeled chair.

Batman's eyes narrowed. "No, I have not forgotten that you bit off more than you could chew. The Justice League is still cleaning up the mess you kids have made." Robin was gritting his teeth and both Cyborg and Starfire were holding barely restrained anger. "You froze almost a hundred people you _claimed_ were villains and terrorists and then handed them over to the U.N. to deal with. We have spent the last nine months in the courts trying to keep these people off the streets." Batman was speaking plainly and bluntly, but no emotion showed in his eyes or voice. "In the end, half of the people you froze were found not guilty and released, and the other half were unthawed and handed to other authorities."

"Say what?" Cyborg screamed.

"When did this happen?" Robin yelled at his mentor.

"They were sent free?" Starfire exclaimed outraged.

Batman glared at the three through the screen. "The U.N. made the decision a month ago."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Robin was so mad right now he was practically seeing red. "They came after us last time, what made you think that not knowing about all of this would be a good idea?"

"The Brotherhood was among those that were not released." Batman stated cooly. "They were moved to a U.N. metahuman prison to be held for a proper trial. They escaped a week ago. You were not told, because it was decided that the Doom Patrol would handle them. The League felt telling you would only cause you to go picking a fight you could not win." Batman's voice was hard as he delivered the League's decision.

"That wasn't your choice to make." Robin screamed. "We have members all over the world that could be sitting ducks right now because the Brotherhood has the element of surprise. Did it ever occur to you to tell me, despite what the League thought?"

"I stand by the League's decision. The Brotherhood made a big show of their attack, the League is putting every resource available to find and capture them." The Dark Knight's voice never wavered as he spoke to his old side kick.

"Well it's a good thing only thirty people had to die in order for you to feel obligated to help." Robin shot back, his voice filled with venom. "I'm not just your fucking sidekick anymore. You can't keep controlling me like this." He reached up and pulled off his mask. "As of right now, I am not Robin anymore. I don't need you looking over my shoulder." Robin threw the mask at the screen. "You'd better just hope your plans don't get any of MY Titans killed, or you are going to have hell to pay." He slammed his fist down on the disconnect button, leaving the screen black.

The others, who had kept quiet while their leader was arguing with Batman, were now staring at him shocked. Starfire was the first to speak. "Robin?" She asked carefully.

"Don't call me that." He barked. "Sorry, just, call me Dick for now." He turned to Starfire as he apologized. "I was serious; I refuse to go by Robin anymore. I have lived in that asshole's shadow for too long."

"Yo, man, I know that you are upset, but are you sure about that?" Cyborg asked cautiously.

"You heard him Cyborg. He knew. He has known for weeks, and he did nothing to let us, to let me, know. The League doesn't take us seriously. It's time for us to make them notice us. We are going after The Brotherhood again. I don't care what those arrogant pricks have to say, I'm not just going to sit here are wait for them to 'save the day'. We aren't helpless kids, we know what we are doing and we have proven it before, we will just prove it again."

"I agree Boyfriend Ro- Dick. When a warrior is wronged, the only thing they can do is to fight back." Starfire said her hands and eyes glowing with a green light.

Cyborg held his hand up in front of him, "I get that, I really do, but this is the League you are talking about. They don't want us going after the Brotherhood, Batman made that clear. Picking this fight could mean getting shut down."

"They can never shut us down." Dick said firmly. "Not as long as we don't let them. I won't make you do this Cyborg," he said calmly, "I won't try to force anyone to go against the Justice League. This is a fight every Titan has to decide to take on their own."

"Screw that." Cyborg said, "I'm in. I just needed to know you were serious about this. Couldn't have you ditching out at the last second." The metal man gave his friends a smile.

"Count us in too." Came a monotone voice from the common room doors. Raven and Beast Boy were standing in the doorway. Robin had never seen Beast Boy look so; the only word he could use to describe what he saw in him was focused. His hands were tightened into fists and his face seemed to be set in stone. Raven's hood was up so they couldn't see her face, but judging by her posture she was ready for a fight.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked carefully.

"Long enough, Dick." Beast Boy said firmly. "I want these sons of bitches. I want them bad."

Starfire's face softened when she saw her friend, "Beast Boy, what had you so upset earlier?" She asked.

"The Doom Patrol is dead. All but Mento." The rest of the Titans stiffened, they all knew of his relationship with the legendary team of heroes. "And before you start," he said firmly," I don't want apologies or pity. If you want to help me, help me catch the Brotherhood."

"You know we will BB." Cyborg said walking up to his friend. Starfire and Dick joined them.

The five of them stood looking between each other, every one of them with firm determination written on their faces. "Titans," Dick said holding his hand out in front of him. One by one each of his team mates put their hand on top of his as their five voices rang as one, "Together."


	2. Chapter 2

**A few things I want to note:**

**The "Prelude" to this story, **_**Karaoke Night**_** was written mostly when I was in high school and was only really mentioned and used because it was there. I wrote that a long time ago and looking back on it, I'm not really sure I want to use it as the Beast Boy/Raven get together story. That being said, I will be leaving it as is until I get a little further in the story and want to write a better get together story for them. **

**I plan on posting a few one-shots, already have a few planned out, most of them will be in the same universe as this story, but will take place sometimes years before this. The reason for this is because this is the story that is getting me back into writing and I needed certain things to be a certain way in order to do that. I bring this up because as I progress I might have to "retro" a few things here or there to make it make sense.**

**Finally, I like reviews. I am really only writing this story down to share with others and getting feedback will help motivate me to continue. Not a threat, just honesty. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy the story.**

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"First things first, I need to let the rest of the Titans know what is going on. That should take most of the day." The leader of the Titans said going back to the computer. "Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg; I want you to go out to Maine to check on Mento."

Beast Boy, slightly taken aback, responded with a stuttered, "Really? Thanks Rob, I mean Dick."

"I'm an asshole BB, I'm not heartless." He smiled back at his green friend.

The green boy chuckled, "Your words, not mine."

"I'm gonna go get the jet ready, it should only take about ten minutes, so we can leave where you two are ready." Cyborg said as he headed for the elevator.

Raven placed her hand on Beast Boy's shoulder to get his attention. "You should go get cleaned up."

"What?" He said looking down at his dirt covered uniform. "Oh. I guess I should. I will be right back." He turned to her as he was leaving and kissed her on the cheek. Realizing what he had just done, he immediately pulled back, "Sorry Rae," he started before she interrupted him.

"Go get changed Beast Boy." She said in a soft voice, with a smile on her lips. He gave her a small smile before turning back to the door and heading off to the dormitories.

"Surely there is something that I can do as well Dick?" Starfire asked as the door closed behind Beast Boy.

"There is." He said with a nod and turned to look at her. "I realize that this isn't really your specialty, but I need to you monitor the news channels and other broadcasts. If there is even a hint of Brotherhood involvement I want to know about it."

Starfire gave a nod with a look of grim determination. "I will do so. If there is news of them, I shall find it."

"Thanks Star. Raven?" He asked breaking her out of a trance.

"Yes?"

"How is he?" He asked softly, gesturing to the door.

She paused before answering. It was a fair question, especially considering his breakdown earlier. "He is… muted. I don't think he is letting himself feel the full effect of his grief. I plan on doing my best to rectify that. But Dick," Her voice grew hard and her eyes narrowed. "If you even try to take him off of this…"

The former Boy Wonder broke in immediately. "I wasn't even considering it. I'm hardly the poster boy for emotional stability."

"Good. I need to go get ready." Before either Dick or Starfire could respond, Raven was enveloped in black energy and disappeared.

"I do not like this." Starfire said now that they were alone.

"I know Star." He responded as he closed the distance between them and put his forehead against hers. "I know."

The tamaranian snaked her arms around her boyfriend and pulled him closer. "We will be alright, wont we?"

Dick just wrapped her in a hug and pulled her even closer.

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The flight to Maine had been silent for the most part; none of the trio had felt much like making conversation. The T-jet landed at an air strip just outside the city and the T-car was unloaded. Getting through the paperwork for the landing seemed to last longer to the three than the entire flight had, but eventually they were on their way to the hospital.

Beast Boy and Raven occupied the backseat of the car holding hands as Cyborg navigated the streets of Augusta, Maine. Cyborg could see Beast Boy growing more nervous with each minute from the rear view mirror. Even if he hadn't been able to watch his friend's face, he still would have felt the shaking the car was doing because of the green boy's restless leg. The Titan's pulled up to the hospital just before 2:00 pm.

"You guys head on in." Cyborg said pulling into a patient and visitor drop off zone. "I'm gonna park the car and be in to find you soon." The metal man gave his green friend a reassuring smile as he nodded and left the car without a word.

"Thank you Cyborg." Raven said as she followed Beast Boy out the door. Cyborg drove off to park the car, leaving Beast Boy and Raven standing in front of the hospital doors. The main entrance way was sparsely populated, a few patients sitting in the chairs by the door, and two women sitting behind a desk labeled 'Visitor Check-In'.

Raven started for the desk expecting Beast Boy to follow her, she was halfway there before she noticed that he was still standing in the entrance door. The cloaked sorcerous paused to watch him for a moment. His emotions were thick and heavy; fear, worry, dread, sadness all swarmed in his head but he just stood there looking around the entrance of the hospital. Deciding to find out where they needed to go before going back to him, she turned toward the reception desk again.

The woman Raven approached smiled warmly at her, if a little warily. Raven didn't give her a chance to speak before she started, "I'm looking for," was all she got out before she was interrupted.

"We've been expecting you." A voice came from Raven's left. She felt a spark of rage well up in Beast Boy before she turned to see who was speaking. "They're with us." A black man in a black and green uniform walked toward her, the symbol of the Green Lantern Corp centered on his chest. The man stopped a few feet from Raven and looked over to Beast Boy, his eyes softening from the stern gaze he seemed to always wear. "You can call me John." He said extending his hand to Raven, who shook it lightly. "I can take you to see him. Follow me." He spoke abruptly and motioned for them to follow him.

Raven waited until Beast Boy, still fighting back a hot ball of rage, walked up to her intent on following the Green Lantern. As focused as he was on what they were about to see, Raven relaxed a little when Beast Boy gave her a small smile and she could feel his affection for her help ease his more turbulent emotions.

The trio walked through the halls of the hospital in silence. Chaos seemed to be everywhere as doctors and nurses rushed back and forth from room to room checking on patients. Finally the heroes boarded an elevator and rode it to the fifth floor. This is when the silence was broken. "How many people are here from the attack?" Beast Boy asked, his voice carefully controlled to keep as much emotion out of it as possible.

"Floors one and two are both full of people from the attack." The Green Lantern replied. "There were not a lot of injuries if you look at the big picture, but most of the less injured were sent to other hospitals. Only the ones in need of immediate care got brought here." The elevator doors opening brought the conversation to a close. The top floor of the hospital was smaller than the others, only about half the size of the first floor, but it seemed to be busier with the same number of nurses and doctors working in such close quarters.

The three exited the elevator into a small area around a large desk. A sign reading 'Intensive Care' hung in front of the desk, a number of haggard men and women worked quickly behind it. The Green Lantern lead the way down a side hallway ending in a single patient room surrounded by rooms that, by their signs, were dedicated to specialty medical equipment.

The first thing that Beast Boy noticed in the room was the man in the bed. His adoptive father was pale and covered in small cuts and bruises. Bandages ran up his left arm and covered the top of his head. Mento was hooked up to machines and a soft beeping could be heard from next to his bed. The green shapeshifter walked over to his father's side. Beast Boy felt numb again looking down at the man in bed. A chair encased in black energy pulled up behind Beast Boy as his knees buckled and he fell back, landing hard in the chair.

Raven was the first of the two to notice the other presence in the room. A man stood off to the side by the window. She was surprised that she had not noticed the red and yellow clad man sooner, and then surprised further to realize it had been because he had been standing _extremely_ still. The Flash watched Beast Boy out of the corner of his eye as he looked out the window.

"John," the speedster called over to the Lantern leaning against the wall, "Their friend is walking in the front door. Want me to go get him?"

The Green Lantern picked himself up off of the wall, "I'll get him. The doctors don't like you running through the halls." The green and black clad man left the room without another word, and Flash went back to watching out the window.

Raven had stood awkwardly in front of the door to the room until the Green Lantern left. She walked over to Beast Boy and placed her hand on his shoulder and was a little shocked when he reached up to her hand and grabbed it with his own.

Even given the circumstances and the minimum contact, Raven felt exposed. She reached out with her powers and pulled the curtain closed around them. They stayed there as the minutes dragged by neither talking. Cyborg entered a few minutes after Raven had closed the curtain.

She could hear their robotic friend speaking quietly to the League members. "How is he?"

John Stewart replied in an equally hushed tone. "He sustained massive brain damage, and severe burning on his left arm. The doctors fixed him up the best they could, and we even had some magical help earlier, but his condition hasn't improved past stable." The stoic man held back any ounce of emotion from his voice, to the point where even Raven would have been impressed were conditions different. After that, no one talked as the minutes turned into an hour, the only sounds came from the hallway and the heart monitor Mento was hooked up to.

Finally Beast Boy gathered himself and stood from the chair. He gave his father a last loving look before looking to Raven. When their eyes met, Raven could tell that the determination Beast Boy had shown earlier had not faded, but grown stronger. She knew that anyone trying to stop him was going to have a very bad day, to say the least. The changeling pulled back the curtain and stepped out of its confines and away from his father.

The Green Lantern, Flash, and Cyborg all looked up at him when he emerged. John was the first one to speak. "How you doin' kid?"

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed as he glared at the Justice League member, "I will be fine once the Brotherhood is caught." He said shortly. Cyborg flinched at his friend's tone; he _never_ spoke like that to anyone, not even Slade.

The metal man watched carefully as Green Lantern responded, "We'll get them, I promise."

Despite the sincerity in the older man's voice, Beast Boy's anger flared to life again. It took all of his control not to yell as he spoke. "Your promise isn't worth shit." The changeling spat, "Don't expect us to just sit by and wait for you to tell us it's safe. The Titans aren't kids," Beast Boy kept as calm as he could while he was staring down John Stewart, "we've dealt with these assholes before, and we will bring them in again."

Raven could feel the anger wash over both men. Cyborg and Flash watched the two nervously, neither sure what to do if a fight started; this was not a good place for two 'Heroes' to duke it out. The empath prepared herself to respond to anything, whether it was defending Beast Boy, or taking the Titans and getting out of there.

"You have been ordered to stand down." Green Lantern was not happy with the fact that the young changeling felt he could intimidate him. "The Justice League is taking care of the Brotherhood of Evil, don't get in our way." The Green Lantern kept calm and matched stare for stare.

"Stay out of ours." Was all Beast Boy said. He was practically growling when he walked past Green Lantern and out the door, followed quickly by Raven.

Cyborg stood up slowly, looking between the two members of the Justice League. "We're on the same side." The half machine man said. "I don't know why you are treating us like this, but we aren't going to take it lying down." Cyborg walked out before either could respond.

"Stubborn ass kids." Green Lantern said as the Titans walked out of the building.

"Maybe we're wrong," Flash started, "they aren't really kids anymore."

"They are going to get themselves killed." John said shaking his head.

Flash just looked up at his friend, "Would you do any differently?"

The Lantern just stood looking out of the window, the sound of Mento's heart monitor beeping behind him. Flash hadn't expected an answer. He simply continued to stand sentry over their fallen comrade.

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

Cyborg caught up to Beast Boy and Raven quickly after leaving the room, and the journey back to the car was taken together in silence. It wasn't until they emerged from the Hospital that Beast Boy broke the silence.

"Something is different." The green boy said in a low voice when they were clear of the door.

Cyborg looked at his friend with curious eyes. "What do you mean?" Raven had also shifted her gaze to hear him better.

"I mean, something has changed. I have this strange feeling. I can't explain it, but something is different." Beast Boy's eyes where moving over the landscape as fast as they could.

"Something changed just now?" Cyborg asked, his eyes also searching the area.

Beast Boy shook his head slowly. "No. I think I felt it when we walked in to the hospital, but it wasn't out here when we got here. I thought it had something to do with the medical equipment, but it is still there."

"I don't feel anything." Raven said looking at Beast Boy worriedly.

Beast Boy ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I can't explain it; I just know something is different. Cy, can't you run a scan or something?"

"I can try, but without knowing what I am looking for it could take a while." The robotic Titan started pressing buttons on his arm console.

"Beast Boy," Raven said quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Shhhh…" he quieted her, "Look." He pointed over to a few squirrels that were behaving strange. "Maybe it is an animal thing, but whatever it is, I can sense it."

"Well there is something," Cyborg said suddenly, "I can't contact the Tower…"

Right as the words left Cyborg's mouth, the strange sensation Beast Boy had been feeling vanished, and their communicators went off.

Answering it before it had a chance to start a second ring, Cyborg was immediately greeted with a panicked Robin, mask and all. "Where the hell have you guys been?" He barked.

"Here at the Hospital, what's going on?" Cyborg asked quickly.

"The Brotherhood attacked. I have been trying to reach you for an hour." The anger was apparent in his tone.

"What?" Cyborg screamed. "Our coms must have been blocked. What the hell happened."

Raven and Beast Boy had both gathered around Cyborg's arm to see their leader.

"What's going on Robin." Beast Boy asked, noticing the attire.

"Too much for over the phone. Especially if we have been hacked again. I will explain everything when you get back. But you need to make a stop first." Robin's scowl grew darker still as he looked at Cyborg. "Silke was going to show off her white dress, but she spilled punch on it."

With a tightly constrained voice Cyborg responded with, "What kind of punch?"

"Fruit punch." Beast Boy and Raven weren't sure what was going on, but this made no sense.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Beast Boy asked.

Ignoring him, Cyborg continued with Robin, "That sure is a shame, what are you going to do now?"

"Not much I can do, but I tell you, it sure is difficult to babysit a larva."

"Well, see you soon." Cyborg shut off the communication."

"Cy, what is going on?" The green teen stood glaring at his best friend. Raven just stood there. It wasn't too common for Cyborg to be transmitting his emotions so loudly, but right now he was radiating with fear and anger.

The metal teen just looked down at his friend and started to push him forward. "I will tell you in the car, but right now we have to move. Now!" He yelled seeing the reluctance in Beast Boy's eyes.

"But what about Mento?" asked a panicked Beast Boy.

"Trust me, Mento is in good hands right now. But right now there are others that aren't."

Raven grabbed both of them and surrounded them in her powers. The next thing any of them saw was the T-car parked five feet from them in the parking garage.

"Get in and tell us what is happening." Raven demanded.

The three jumped into the car and Cyborg started driving. "Cy, what the fuck is happening?"

"After the whole mess with the Brotherhood, Dick and I set up small code phrases with each other. Most of them were stupid and silly, but a few where bad."

"Okay, so what does all that shit mean?" spat the changeling riding shotgun.

"White dress is code for emergency, and the punch explains what kind." The metal man steadied himself for what he was about to say. "Orange is for regroup, grape is for private meeting and fruit… it means someone died."

"The Brotherhood is out killing civilian?" Raven asked shakily.

Cyborg could only shake his head. "No. A Titan has been killed."

Neither Raven nor Beast Boy could find any words to overcome their shock.

"It wasn't Starfire." Cyborg continued before they could ask. "I doubt Robin would be able to think straight if that was the case, and he defiantly would not have used the code."

Raven uttered her mantra as Beast Boy let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"What about the rest?" The empath's voice strained to be heard over the sounds of the T-car rushing through the streets of Augusta.

Cyborg swerved in and out of traffic and he spoke. "The rest was what he wanted us to do. We are going to pick up Melvin, Tommy, and Teather. They aren't going to be safe where they are. Honestly I doubt they will be a hell of a lot safer at the Tower, but at least there they will have us." The sound of honking cars followed them as they made their way to the hanger.

"Shit." Raven swore. Beast Boy looked back at her concerned. All of the Titans knew she had bonded with the three.

"It'll be alright Raven, we will get there in time. Nothing will happen." He reached back and put his hand on her knee.

Raven's eyes lit with dark energy, "Hang on, I haven't tried this before." The T-car was engulfed with her soul self and vanished.

For a split second, less time that it would take to blink, they couldn't see anything but the black of her powers. All of a sudden they were at the airport, speeding right at a closed hanger door. It took every bit of driving skill Cyborg had to stop the car before they crashed.

"What the hell Raven! Give me more warning before you do that! I didn't even know you could." Cyborg yelled as the car slid to a halt.

Beast Boy looked back at the pale sorcerous once they stopped, and what he saw made his heart drop. Raven was laying slumped sideways with blood trickling out her nose and ears. "RAVEN!" He screamed, morphing into a ferret, slipping out of his seat belt and jumping back to her.

The green teen's cries brought Cyborg's attention to the back seat too. "What happened?"

"I don't know." He replied turning back to normal and cradling her head while checking for a pulse. "She's alive, but her heart beat is irregular."

"Let me take a look." Cyborg said opening the side door.

Beast Boy picked her up and carried her out of the car. "Get the jet running."

"But what about," he started before Beast Boy rounded on him.

"We need to get to the kids. She got us here because she was worried about them; we need to make sure we get to them asap. That's how she would want it." He said firmly rushing off towards the T-jet's hanger.

"Right." Cyborg nodded jumping back into the car and driving off.

Beast Boy transformed into a gorilla once he heard Cyborg take off. The larger size and strength made carrying his precious cargo easier. The door to the hanger opened without much convincing and he set Raven down on the ground before checking her pulse again.

"C'mon Rae, snap out of it. We need you right now. The kids need you… I need you… Please." He ran his hand down her cheek and she stirred.

"Gar?"

"Oh thank God. Yeah Rae, it's me." He could hardly hold back the tears of joy at her waking up.

"Did I make it?" She asked weakly.

He gave her a small chuckle and pulled her to his chest, "We are at the hanger. Cy will be right back, I think he went to talk to the flight guy. Or however this shit works."

From her slumped position he could feel a sigh of relief wash through her. She touched him gingerly on the face before pushing away gently. She looked up to his eyes and he could practically taste her fear. "We need to get to them Beast Boy. I won't be able to forgive myself if we don't."

He started to stand, helping her to her feet as well. "I know. Can you stand?"

"Yes." She said firmly.

"Then come on. We can get the Jet ready for take-off."

The two set to work, and only a few minute later Cyborg came driving up in the T-car.

"Get in. Once I get the T-car secured we are going to be taking off." The loading bay door opened and he drove the T-car in.

Beast Boy and Raven wasted no time in getting to their seats, and were joined almost immediately by Cyborg.

"Hang on. This is gonna get bumpy."


	3. Chapter 3

**To all of you who did not notice, this fic has been rated M for mature audiences. There WILL be swearing, sexual situations (I will do my best not to push the MA rating), violence, and descriptive texts regarding all three. **

**There WILL be deaths. Some of these deaths will be named characters in "real fic" time, some will be "unnamed" characters. In the event that the Titans encounter a morbid situation, there WILL be graphic descriptions. **

**This story that I am weaving is not going to be for the faint of heart, and many people are not going to like some of the things that happen. I get that, but keep in mind that when characters react, I am trying to make it obvious that they are HUMAN. No one is perfect, and even good people make mistakes. **

**Starting of this chapter with a little bit of a flash back, and I am going to start adding time stamps for big scene changes, not the little ones, just the big ones.**

**Anyway, WHATS GOING ON?**

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

**Titan's Tower 2:00 pm **

Dick Grayson sat at the Titan's computer, mask in place, rubbing his temples. He had spent the last few hours contacting as many Titans as he could in order to warn them about the Brotherhood being on the loose again. So far he had reached everybody but Thunder and Lightning, who hadn't answered the call, and Jericho, Herald, Hotspot and Argent who he hadn't tried yet.

The topic was stressful enough, but his stress was added to by the fact that he had to be Robin for a little while still. Not all of the Titans knew he was Richard Grayson, and even if they did he was smart enough not to broadcast that information over a line that might be compromised.

So far everyone had questions he couldn't answer; how did the Brotherhood get free, why did the Justice league not tell them, or how are the Titans going to find them this time? He took his mask off and massaged the bridge of his nose. Dick couldn't ever remember the mask pinching as much as it was right then.

Starfire had gone to the briefing room to use the nine monitors to watch for Brotherhood activity and he hadn't heard anything from her since Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven left.

The Titan's leader put his mask back on and entered the next number to contact. Right as Herald's face popped onto the screen, Starfire burst through the door, "Robin, something has happened."

The young acrobat jumped when she rushed in, and then became worried when she ran past him straight to the television. "Star, what's wrong?" He asked quickly.

Herald, watching from his communicator, said, "What's going on?"

"The Brotherhood has attacked." Starfire said frantically as she worked at a console next to the TV. The television screen, made up of sixteen smaller screens that usually worked in unison, turned on to reveal four different scenes, one at each corner.

Each of the scenes was news broadcasts from all over the world, each of which showed large scale destruction. Words ran across the screens at the bottom of the broadcasts, one in Japanese, one in English, one in Spanish and one in Portuguese. Amidst the destruction Robin could recognize a neighborhood the Titans West had visited six months prior, and an apartment complex he knew to be Kilowatts.

Before he had time to ask her what he was looking at, Herald and Jericho appeared out of a portal into the middle of the common room. "Can you explain to me what is going on?" The trumpet wielder asked landing on the floor.

"The Brotherhood escaped and attacked the Doom Patrol." Robin said quickly, "Starfire what is all this?"

Speaking quickly, she went over what she knew. "Tokyo, Japan," she said pointing at the first screne, "Bushido was last seen there, little property damage but there is evidence of a fight." She moved on to the next scene. "Manaus, Brazil, Thunder and Lightning were trying to stabilize the rainy seasons." Moving to the bottom row of screens she continued. "Mexico City, Mexico, witnesses claim to have seen Wildebeest fighting a gorilla." Finally she pointed at the last screen, "Seattle, Washington, an elephant on two legs was seen destroying buildings around Kilowatt's home."

"What? Robin how did they escape?" Herald asked looking to the boy wonder. Jericho, eyes wide in worry, kept watching the screens.

"No time." Robin said sharply. "Get to Japan. Find Bushido and find out who attacked him." He turned back to the computer and punched in a number. Not a second later a solemn Kid Flash opened his communicator. "Where are you?" Robin asked before the speedster had a chance to speak.

"Florida. Why what's…" Kid Flash started before getting cut off.

"Trouble. Get to Mexico City, Wildebeest might need help."

"The Brotherhood?" Kid Flash asked.

"Assume it is." Dick said before hanging up. He looked around to see if Herald and Jericho were still there, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Starfire, how long would it take you to fly to Seattle?" He asked shifting his gaze to her.

"On my own? It would take over an hour at top speed, but I cannot fly that fast for that long." She responded.

"Shit." He muttered and turned back to the computer. Dialing a number again he hoped for the best. "Thunder, Lightning, come in. Come in dammit." His clenched fist slammed down on the panel next to the keyboard. "Respond dammit." Nothing but static came from the other line.

"Perhaps Raven could check on them." Starfire said moving next to her angry boyfriend.

Without saying anything, Robin punched in her code but only received the same static from her communicator. "What the fuck is going on?" he swore while entering Cyborg's number followed by Beast Boy's and getting the same response.

Working frantically he dialed Kilowatts number and the response he got made his heart drop. The screen flashed in red letters "Communicator non-functional"

The screen beeped showing an incoming call. Hitting the button Robin and Starfire watched as the black screen changed to show Herald standing against a brick wall. "Robin, Bushido is dead."

Robin and Starfire inhaled sharply at the news. "No." Starfire whispered.

"What happened?" Robin barked at the screen.

Herald shook his head. "We don't know. When we got here we found him in an allyway. They cut his head off Robin. They cut off his fucking head, and nailed him to a wall with his broken sword." Herald's brow was creased in fear.

"Did you find any clue as to who did it?" Robin asked trying to keep in control.

"We got forced away. These people in body armor and face shields came running up before we could even get him down. They forced us out saying it was a "Checkmate investigation"."

"Checkmate?" Robin screamed "What the hell does Checkmate want?"

"Who is Checkmate?" Herald asked.

Robin ground his teeth together, "Checkmate is not going to let you in. Get to Brazil, I want to know what's going on with Thunder and Lighting."

"But, what about Bushido?" Herald asked startled by the order.

"We need to make sure what happened to Bushido doesn't happen to anyone else. Right now, the Titans that are still alive are more important." The angry Grayson barked.

The hooded musician narrowed his eyes at the leader of the Titans. "Fine." The connection was terminated.

Almost immediately the monitor indicated an incoming call. Hitting the button, Robin was surprised to see Bumble Bee's face fill the screen. "Robin, there's trouble."

"What? You too? What is going on over there?" Robin asked. He couldn't remember the last time his heart had beat this fast.

"We have over three hundred alarms going off throughout the city and more going off in neighboring cities." She said quickly, Robin's jaw dropped and she continued. "We have already verified that twenty alarms are false leads, but we can't take any chances. We need Kid Flash."

"Dammit." He yelled slamming his fists on the desk again. "The Brotherhood is attacking Titan's all over the world. Kid Flash and Herald are trying to help where they can. I think they are trying to keep you busy."

"Shit." She swore into her communicator. Robin and Starfire could see clouds behind her head moving quickly, she was flying somewhere. "Robin, we need to check these alarms. I won't take the chance that it isn't just a decoy." She said firmly.

Robin nodded. "I will try to get you back-up as soon as I can. Robin out."

He closed the channel and opened a new one.

"Starfire," he said quickly turning to look at her. "I need you to call every Titan you can. We need all hands on board."

"Of course Robin, but many of the Titan's can't get around like Herald or Kid Flash. Many do not even have access to a flying craft." She said watching him carefully.

"I know Star." He barked. "But we need to try. Try Wonder Girl and Argent first." She nodded and pulled out her communicator, moving away from Robin to hear better.

Robin turned back to the computer. After pushing a few buttons Kid Flash's face appeared on screen. "Robin, it's bad." Kid Flash said not looking at the communicator but looking at something in front of him in horror. From somewhere near the speedster Robin heard the sound of someone retching.

"Show me." Robin said grimly. The screen was a blur for a moment while Kid Flash was moving it. Once it stopped, Robin saw what he had feared.

Wildebeest hung eight feet off the ground. Blood dripped down his body coming from numerous gashes and cuts. His horns had been torn off and shoved through his mouth piercing the wall behind him and keeping him off of the ground.

A shuffle came from the other side of the connection. The view spun again as Kid Flash turned to see ten men with guns, body armor, and face shield burst into the warehouse. "Kid Flash and Jinx of the Teen Titans, you are ordered to vacate the premises immediately. You are currently interfering in an official investigation. Leave now or be arrested for obstruction of justice." All ten men leveled their guns at Kid Flash and Jinx as they moved to encircle them.

"Whoa." Kid Flash said holding up his hands. "This is our friend."

"Yeah, who the fuck are you?" Robin recognized Jinx from the other end.

"Kid Flash, Jinx get out of there." Robin shouted into the microphone. "We need to keep moving."

"What?" Kid Flash shouted back looking at his communicator for the first time that call.

Another call started to come in and Robin hit the split screen. Herald's face appeared on one half of the monitor. "Robin, it's chaos down here. An entire block was leveled, there are people trapped in building everywhere, we need help."

"Shit!" Robin hissed through clenched teeth. "Kid Flash, get to Seattle now. Find Kilowatt and make sure he is okay." Robin hit the disconnect button before Kid Flash could argue, before turning his attention back to Herald. "Titans East are being bombarded with security alarms, they can't help. If you can get them yourself, I will put out an emergency line to the rest. Is there any sign of Thunder or Lightning?"

"Scorch marks." Herald said grimly. "We are near the center of the disaster area and we haven't seen or heard any other signs of them."

Robin cursed under his breath while typing out the alert. Hitting send he turned his attention back to Herald. "Anyone available will contact you for pick up, keep your eyes open."

"Right." Herald responded before hanging up.

Starfire walked back into the room, "Wonder Girl was in New York already, she is on her way to Steel City now. Argent and Hot Spot are in Australia, there can do nothing from there."

"Herald is going to be picking up anyone that can help him in Brazil." Robin said staring at the empty monitor.

"Robin, is there nothing else we can do?" Starfire asked weakly.

Robin shook his head. "Someone needs to coordinate the Titans; I can do that best here. You can call Herald, he can pick you up and you can help in Brazil." He said no looking away from the blank screen.

"I will stay." She said firmly. "No Titan should be by themselves right now. The danger is too much of a risk."

"I will be fine Star." Dick said just as firmly.

Starfire nodded, "That is because I will be staying with you."

"Fine." He said allowing himself a small smile. The comm line beeped and he hit the button immediately. Jinx's face appeared on the screen looking paler than normal.

It was clear that she was crouching as she whispered, "Got to Seattle, some guys dressed like the assholes in Mexico were already here. KD is distracting them while I snuck in. This is what I found." She held her communicator over her head and just past the small barrier she was hiding behind. Lying on the floor surrounded by debris was Kilowatt a look of terror frozen on his face. His body was in two pieces and looked like he had been torn in half. Robin and Starfire could see three men in the same body armor as before walking around and inspecting the rubble.

The screen shifted again as Jinx brought it back down to her face. "I don't know what to do." She said meekly.

"Regroup with Kid Flash." Robin said quietly, head hung down. "Call me when you do."

Starfire, who had paled considerably at the sight of Kilowatt, moved next to her boyfriend and put a hand on his back. "Robin?" She asked.

"I'm the leader." He said quietly. "I'm supposed to protect everyone. To make sure everyone survives." A few tears fell past his mask as he fought back sobs.

"There is no way you could have…" she started.

"That's the problem." He yelled. "I could have done something. Prepared everyone, if I had only known the Brotherhood was loose again. But no! That was withheld from me by those fucking asshats in the sky." Starfire could only watch as Robin screamed at the ceiling. "Not even my own fucking father bothered to tell me. And now five Titans are dead, their blood on MY HANDS!" He tore the mask from his face. He would never again think of that mask as being "his".

The Tamaranian Princess felt helpless as she watched the man she loved lose control. "Robin, there is no blood on your hands. You have done everything you could. But you must calm down, we still need you." She walked over to him and gently wrapped her arms around him.

His breathing began to slow and he put the mask back on. "Thanks Star. I still have work to do." He turned around in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her. "There will be plenty of time for pity later."

"There will also be time for revenge." Starfire said darkly. "We will make the Brotherhood pay dearly." Robin sometimes forgot that Starfire wasn't just a hero, she was a warrior.

After a deep and longing kiss, they broke apart and went back to contacting the rest of the Titans.

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

**Ithaca, New York 4:00 pm**

After thirty of the most stressful minutes any of them could remember, the T-Jet touched down in a vacant parking lot belonging to a defunct superstore. The T-Car was jettisoned and the trio sped off to the "Safe house".

Nine months prior, after the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil, the question arose about what to do with Melvin, Tommy, and Teether. The Tower wasn't an option, and none of the Titans wanted to see the siblings split up in the foster care or adoption system. That was when family was brought up. Again though, it seemed they had hit a dead end. Until a few days later Cyborg announced his grandmother was willing to raise the three. With the help of the Titans and a few contacts in the Justice League, Freya Stone became a foster parent to three super powered children.

All five of the Titans West dropped the three off, and Cyborg and Raven stayed to make sure the children got settled. Granny Stone's small ranch style house was outfitted with high tech security measures and even got a new paint job. By the time Raven and Cyborg left for Jump City, Melvin and Tommy had been signed up for school, and Teether was practically attached to the elder Stone's hip.

The fond memories of that time were nowhere in sight as Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven came to a stop at a road block two blocks away from Freya's house. Experience and senses kicked in and the three knew two things; one, these people didn't work for the city, and two, they were armed.

Raven was the first one out of the car, phasing through the roof, hands aglow with dark energy. "What's going on here?" she spat at the three men behind the wooden barricade. Vaguely she could feel two more people sitting in a non-descript van not far from them.

The three men, who interpreted Raven's actions as hostile, reached for their weapons. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Cyborg said leveling his sonic cannon at the men, who froze with glares on their faces.

"Stand down." Came a strong female voice from the direction of the unknown van. Raven and Cyborg shot a questioning look at the new speaker, but also noticed the three men relaxing their positions. "You too Titans. Stand down."

Cyborg lowered his sonic cannon but didn't shift it back into his right arm. "What have you done to Melvin, Tommy and Teether?" Raven spat at the woman. "If you've hurt them in anyway…"

"The children have been taken into state custody. And it would do you well not to threaten me, Mrs. Roth." Cyborg and Raven's eyes shot open at the mention of Raven's last name.

Beast Boy, who had been maneuvering himself behind the men as a fly, returned to his human form. "You; I know you." He said looking at the woman who, unlike the men he had been flanking, showed no surprise at his sudden appearance.

As if ignoring Beast Boy's comment, she continued. "I had been expecting the Bat Brat. That makes this a little more complicated." She turned toward three men standing around, "Keep watch around here. I want the surveillance widened. I don't want to be interrupted."

"What's going on? Beast Boy, who is this woman?" Cyborg said as the men dispersed with a salute.

"Waller." He said slowly. "Amanda Waller. She's dealt with the Doom Patrol before." The green teen kept his confused eyes on the woman as he responded to his friend. Raven lowered herself to the ground and her powers dissipated from her hands, and Cyborg returned his arm to normal.

"Do not talk about me like I'm not here." The dark skinned woman chastised them as she moved so she could see all three of the Titans.

"Where are my Grandmother and the kids?" Cyborg asked her carefully.

"The children are safe and unharmed. They are wards of the state, and with the danger the Brotherhood poses to them, your grandmother's house was deemed unsuitable." Amanda said looking between them. "And as for your grandmother, she has declined our protection. Said she'd been in that house since she was a girl and wasn't leaving for some, as she put it, super powered bullies." The older woman gave a smirk, "I have to admit, I admire that in her."

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it," Raven said sarcastically, "But I want to see them. I want to talk to them before you take them, where ever you are taking them." She added.

The frown returned to Amanda's face, "Too late for that. We moved them an hour ago."

"Then why are you still here?" Beast Boy asked.

"Because a group of super powered teenagers throwing a tantrum in the streets of Ithaca, New York isn't acceptable." She gave the three a sweeping glare. "I stayed because, given the circumstances, you needed to know it wasn't the Brotherhood that took Melvin, Tommy and Teether."

Beast Boy was still staring at the woman. Raven had been returning glare for glare every time she made eye contact with the stranger. "Then who did. You obviously aren't Child Services." Cyborg said plainly.

"If you needed to know that," The woman said hardly looking at him. "I would have told you."

"Checkmate." Beast Boy said quietly.

Amanda Waller's eyes shot to Beast Boy immediately. "So you **were** listening that night."

Beast Boy didn't answer, he just continued to stare at her. Both Raven and Cyborg gave him a look before returning to the woman. "You obviously won't tell us where you are taking them." Raven started. "Will you at least let us contact them?"

"No." Amanda Waller's eyes narrowed at her. "You have no relation to them and any contact could compromise them should the Brotherhood decide to seek them out again." The black woman turned toward the van again as she spoke next, "My advice? Go home, stay out of the way, and don't interfere."

"We aren't done here." Cyborg shouted at her back.

"Yes we are." She said climbing into the van. "Wrap it up people, let's go." The men that had been standing guard near the van climbed in and the van had started driving off before the Titans could do anything else.

Raven held up her hand at the retreating shape, "Like hell." She said, dark energy forming around her hand.

"Raven stop." Beast Boy said moving in front of her. "Listen, I know you don't like this, but there is nothing we can do right now."

"Yeah, they already have the kids. Something tells me attacking them is only going to hurt our cause." Cyborg said kicking the wooden blockade away.

"This isn't right." She spat watching the van drive away. "They can't just take them."

"They are a government agency, there isn't anything we can do right now. Besides, the kids are safe with them." Beast Boy said soothingly trying to make eye contact with Raven. Slowly he moved his hand up and lowered her arm to her side, letting go quickly afterward.

Raven finally relented and met Beast Boy's eyes. She was still having trouble reading his emotions through his forced calm, but she could tell he wasn't lying. Wrong maybe, but not lying. "Okay. We need to get to the Tower. The sooner we find the Brotherhood the sooner Melvin, Tommy, and Teether can get away from this, Checkmate." She said putting extra emphasis on the name of the strange organization.

"When we get there little man, you have some explaining to do." Cyborg said looking down at his shorter friend.

"I know Cy." He said smoothly. "Do you want to check in on your Grandma?"

Cyborg paused and looked up toward her house. "If I go there now I'm going to get chewed out. She is one of the toughest people I know, maybe even tougher than Rob. As much as I want to, we need to get going. Come on." Despite his words, his face showed a large amount of concern.

"You sure?" The green teen asked.

Cyborg was halfway in the car when he shot back, "Get in the damn car."

Once in the car, Cyborg threw it into gear and set off for the T-Jet. "Call Dick, tell him what happened."

"Right." Beast Boy said going for his communicator.

The call was answered almost immediately, "What's your status?"

Beast Boy glanced back at Raven, who was sitting quietly in the back seat, eyes closed and seeming to be meditating. "We aren't hurt. The Brotherhood didn't get the kids," he started, "but we didn't either."

"What? Why not? They are safer here than they are there." The Titan's leader said firmly.

"Listen Dick," Beast Boy cut in, "Checkmate took them into their custody."

"What!?" The masked boy on the other end screamed. His voice was so loud that it caused Cyborg to flinch and swerve and Raven to open her eyes. "Checkmate? What the fuck do they want with them?"

"Checkmate is a government agency,"

"I know what Checkmate is Beast Boy, and above all else Checkmate is dangerous."

Beast Boy could feel the tension rise in the car as Cyborg's jaw clenched and it felt like Raven was glaring holes in the back of his head. "What did you want us to do? Pick a fight? They already had the kids. Amanda Waller only stuck around so we didn't do something stupid."

"Waller…" the former boy wonder said in a growl. "That's not usual for her. She doesn't give a damn about what she does to others. Why did she stay behind?" he was still speaking in a low voice, but it seemed to Beast Boy that he was trying to be more reasonable.

Beast Boy shook his head. "I don't know. Something doesn't smell right here."

"Where to now?" Cyborg broke in.

"Get home." Dick responded. "That's all you can do right now."

"What about the punch?" Beast Boy asked slowly.

The man on the other end flinched, "Checkmate has their hands in that too. We need to regroup before doing anything else." The connection was severed and the Titans pulled in to the abandoned parking lot.

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

**Titan's Tower 6:10 pm**

After another silent flight in the T-Jet, shorter this time because of increased speed, the T-Jet made its way into the Tower's docking bay. The returning Titans left the Jet as it was and headed immediately for the elevator. The quiet was deafening in the small square room as it raised the twelve stories to the common room.

Immediately after the doors opened the three noted the state of disrepair the common room was in, and noticed no one was there. "They must be in the briefing room. " Cyborg said heading toward a door on the other side of the room. Beast Boy started to follow but was stopped by Raven's hand on his shoulder.

"We will be there in a few minutes." She said as she and Beast Boy disappeared into her black energy.

Beast Boy shook his head to clear it. Raven's teleportation was always jarring for him. Before his head had cleared Raven had pushed him against the wall, her hand on the center of his chest. "What is going to happen to Melvin, Tommy, and Teether?" she asked as calmly as she could.

Behind her Beast Boy could see a few of her figurines floating in a tight circle, and the noticed that they were in her room. He could also tell by her eyes that she was angry and scared; very scared. That point hit home even farther when he realized the proof had been in her voice as well. "They are going to be fine Rae."

"I don't want to hear platitudes. I want the truth. What will happen to them? Why is Checkmate dangerous?" The hand she had on his chest balled into a fist clutching onto his uniform. He reached his hands up to place on her shoulders, "Don't touch me!" She practically hissed, "Just answer the question."

Dropping his hands to his side he almost cried from the look in her eyes. She was frantic, terrified for the three siblings, and she had held it all back on the ride home. "Rae, I don't… I don't know what is going to happen to them." The statues spinning in a circle spun faster.

"And Checkmate?" She snapped.

He flinched at her tone but kept his breathing steady. "They are a super-secret branch of the government. They deal with "dangerous metahuman encounters"" he said putting emphasis on the last part.

"How do you know them?" she asked when he stopped speaking.

"I only know OF them." He said quietly.

"You knew that woman." She said stating the obvious.

Beast Boy looked away from her, "The night I ran away from the Doom Patrol, she came by to talk to Mento. Checkmate wanted the Doom Patrol to assassinate someone."

Raven's breath hitched and her grasp loosened on his shirt. "Is that why you ran away?" she asked, her arm relaxing but still holding him back.

"Yeah." He said meekly. "We never killed anyone. That was a rule. Still is. But that night, Mento agreed."

"And you stopped me from stopping them? Why?" she asked staring right into his eyes.

That was when he noticed how much distaste she held for him at that moment. All thoughts of "kissing and making up" where completely thrown out of his mind. "I don't know a lot about Checkmate, but I do know that Amanda Waller is only one person in a huge system." He paused a moment before continuing, "She said it herself, we couldn't help by threatening them."

Raven's hand fell to her side and she stepped back shaking her head. "Fine. Go to the meeting. I'll be right behind you." She never took her eyes off of him as he walked toward the door.

Even with fearing her response, he turned in her doorway and asked, "Raven, are we okay?"

"No Beast Boy. Not right now." She said tightly.

A few tears fell from his eyes as the door closed behind him and he heard an angry scream come from the room and the sound of her figurines shattering against the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Two chapters in two days! Wowie zowie, I did not think this last chapter would fall together so quickly, but it just spilled out. That being said, if you notice any glaring errors please let me know. Also, if anyone knows a better way to spell Tamaranian let me know.**

**Once again, reviews motivate me to work more quickly, so let me know what you think. **

**P.S. Gory chapter… You have been warned…**

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

Beast Boy walked into the briefing room a few minutes later, after stopping to wash his face. Raven was already there, hood pulled so far over her eyes that not even her chin was visible; a habit she had grown out of some time ago. He was more surprised, however, by the other Titans in the room. Aside from Starfire, Dick, Cyborg and Raven; Herald, Jericho, Jinx and Kid Flash were present.

The former Robin looked up from the table as the door opened; stress lines were deeply creased in his forehead. He nodded at him as he took a seat on the other side of the table from Raven, earning a few cursory looks from the others. Even though he couldn't see her eyes he was pretty sure she had watched him enter too.

The room was silent for a moment before Cyborg spoke up. "Dick." He said prompting him.

"Right." The detective said darkly. "Today at 13:37 hours, five Titans were attacked by members of the Brotherhood. Three of them are confirmed dead, two are missing; presumed dead." His voice held steady even through the gasping coming from Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Who?" The green boy whispered when Dick didn't continue.

After another pause, the maskless man started to speak again, "Wildebeest, Kilowatt, and Bushido were all executed and their bodies displayed. The attacks were sudden from what we've gathered, and it doesn't look like they even had much time to defend themselves. Thunder and Lightning where seen battling Brotherhood troops but their bodies haven't been found."

"So they could still be alive." Cyborg said firmly.

"Maybe." Dick responded tightly. "But we don't know if they would even leave a trace. They were forces of nature personified. The traditional rules don't exactly apply." Cyborg and Beast Boy flinched at Dick's use of the past tense.

"I too believe they are still alive." Starfire said from Dick's right side. "The Brotherhood made a large show of killing the other three. I see it as unlikely that they would not do so for the brothers."

"What big show?" Cyborg asked her.

Herald stepped in to continue. "Jericho and I were jamming in another dimension when Robin called. We got to Japan as soon as we could but by the time we got there, Bushido was already dead. He was nailed to a wall with his sword. Whoever killed him also cut off his head."

"And they just left him there?" Cyborg asked.

Herald nodded and continued. "Checkmate was already there, and they wouldn't let us anywhere near him. We only know what we could see from the street before they blocked everything off."

"What about the others?" Beast Boy asked quietly.

"We were the first Titans on the scene of Wildebeest's "fight"" Kid Flash said motioning between him and Jinx. "He was nailed to a wall by one of his horns shoved through his mouth." Jinx covered her mouth as she remembered the sight she saw and held back her retching.

The rest of the Titans in the room all paled considerably as he went on. "We were forced out immediately by Checkmate. They cordoned off the area and wouldn't let us do our own investigation. After calling Robin, sorry; Dick," he added as the Titan leader's face darkened, "we headed towards Kilowatt."

Jericho grimly strummed a few low notes on his lute as Jinx cleared her throat. "I was the one who saw Kilowatt." Her face paled even further as all of the Titans turned their gazes upon her. "Wally had to distract the Checkmate bastards while I snuck in. He was pretty well beaten, and in two pieces."

"What the fuck." Cyborg uttered. "Why all the cutting up?"

Jinx shook her head, "It wasn't a cut. He was torn in half." She stood up abruptly and muttered an "Excuse me." And she ran towards the door with her hand covering her mouth. Kid Flash stood up as she ran out, after getting a nod from Dick, he sped after her.

"What about Thunder and Lightning?" Beast Boy asked quietly. Jericho shook his head.

"There was a lot of property damage; crushed buildings, destroyed cars, downed telephone lines, but their bodies weren't found. We managed to get to Brazil before Checkmate and we searched for an hour before they showed up and we left. There are a lot of Titans still in Brazil rescuing civilians." Herald said weakly.

"How many civilians?" Cyborg asked fearing the worst.

"Between the four sites, more than one hundred injured. Thankfully no civilians have been killed." Starfire said quietly. "I believe they are trying to prove a point. Last time was not normal. They are far more dangerous than we have encountered yet."

Silence fell in the room again as the reality sank in; they had lost five of their friends, to prove a point.

"So this "Checkmate" is running their own investigations?" Raven asked.

"It seems that way." Dick said.

"We need to get the investigation files." Cyborg said with a croaking voice.

The former Boy Wonder shook his head. "They have forced us out of every crime scene and completely cleaned it after they were done. They aren't going to just had them over."

"Do we have anything at all?" Cyborg asked, clearly frustrated.

"Aside from the news broadcasts," Starfire started, "we found a lot of home videos likely take from cellular phones." Pressing buttons on the console she brought up still photos depicting different scenes.

"People were uploading these like crazy." Dick explained. "I'd be willing to bet you couldn't find most of these anymore. We had time while you were flying back here to go through most of them."

"These are the ones that showed the most." Starfire said. "It looks like each Titan attacked was attacked by one person only." A blurry photograph showed Kilowatt being attacked by what looked like an elephant.

"This guy is pretty distinct," Dick said pointing at the elephant, "he bears resemblance to a man named Elephant Man, real name unknown. According to U.N. records, Elephant Man is serving time for crimes against humanity."

"Let me guess, same prison as the Brotherhood?" Beast Boy asked.

Dick nodded. "No official reports register him as broken out, but then again, they say the Brotherhood of Evil is still behind bars."

The next slide showed eight yellow bars streaking across an alleyway. "We did our best but this is the only photo that showed anything conclusive, and I'm still not sure what we are looking at."

"It's too solid to be a light based weapon." Cyborg murmured.

"Agreed. But that leaves a lot of other options." Dick said shaking his head.

Beast Boy squinted at the image, "Are those lines on the shafts from the camera? Like poor quality or something?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Beast Boy." Dick said changing the image. "I think you are all going to recognize this guy." The new picture showed Wildebeest grappling with Monsieur Mallah.

"Mallah." Beast Boy growled. His hands gripped the arms of the chair in fury at the thought of the gorilla killing Wildebeest.

"I tried to find footage of some kind from the attack in Brazil," Starfire said, "but I was unable to find anything. It is as if no one close to the scene had even tried."

"And with the number of photos and video we found of the aftermath, I'd have to say that's pretty unlikely." Dick added.

"A lot happened down there; maybe no one wanted to get hurt." Herald put in.

Cyborg thought about that. "Maybe, but people these days are usually all over stuff like that happening. It's become a pretty big fad to take pictures of superheroes in action and post them to, well, any social media cite really." He shook his head to clear it. "What about the interference with our communicators? Any ideas?"

The screen went blank as the photos faded from it as Dick said, "I have no idea. There were a few reports saying some people lost their calls around that time, but it didn't seem to cause any serious problems."

"Not even in Maine? From what you've said it must have been blocked for over an hour." Cyborg pointed out.

Shaking his head Dick said, "Not even in Maine."

"I think I felt something," Beast Boy spoke up. "When we were in the hospital I wrote it off, but when we got out it looked like I wasn't the only who thought something was off."

"What do you mean?" Dick asked confusedly.

Beast Boy scratched the back of his head. "There were some squirrels that were acting funny."

"Funny how?" Herald asked.

"Funny like not normal." The green shape shifter said frustrated.

"Forgive me friend, but could that not mean that it could be caused by a distorted frequency?" Starfire asked. Everyone in the room gave her a questioning look. "Animals are capable of hearing a good deal of frequencies that human are can't, are they not?"

"Yeah," said Cyborg deep in thought, "That could narrow it down some, but that still wouldn't explain why it was so localized that it didn't cause more havoc." He rubbed his chin while he thought.

Beast Boy looked up at Dick. "Has the League said anything?" he asked meekly knowing the topic would be a sore one with the Titans leader.

Dick gritted his teeth and looked away. "The League has made no apologies and has insisted that we leave the investigation to them and Checkmate."

"Alright who the hell are these guys?" Cyborg asked with a raised voice breaking out of his thoughts. "First they show up at ALL of the crime scenes, then they practically abduct three young children, and now they are telling us to sit down and shut up?"

"Checkmate is a secret agency working for the United Nations." Dick said lowly. "They work against, what they call metahuman threats. They are not fond of the Justice League at all, and they apparently don't even recognize the Titans as existing." He finished bitterly crossing his arms in front of him. "I've met a few of the organization while working with Batman, including Amanda Waller."

"That bitch that was at my Grandma's house?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah. She's a pretty high ranking member. To my knowledge, she only goes out in the field when she is sure she would run into a superhero." Dick responded bitterly. "She likes pissing everyone off whenever she can."

"She also knew my last name." Raven added. "It isn't exactly secret, but she would have had to do a lot of research to find that out."

"Believe me when I say she likes to be very well informed." The young Grayson said bitterly.

"Beast Boy, you seemed to know her too. Where did you meet her?" Cyborg asked his green friend.

"She showed up the night I ran away from the Doom Patrol." Beast Boy repeated. "Checkmate wanted the Doom Patrol to perform an assassination. I left when I heard Mento agree to it." His voice died down as he remembered the day he lost faith in his adoptive father.

"Seriously?" Cyborg said incredulously. "The Doom Patrol are legends. I've never heard of them doing anything like that."

"You've also never heard of Checkmate." A disgruntled Dick pointed out. "You know the Brotherhood better than anybody here, Beast Boy, any ideas on their next move?"

The emerald changeling shook his head no and kept his eyes lowered to his lap.

"I believe they will take no further actions while they regroup." Starfire said firmly.

"What makes you think that?" Herald asked looking dumbfounded

"On my planet, tactics like this were used often as a form of warfare. It was used mainly to frighten the citizens and sow doubt in the enemy. Which I believe they have done well." She added sadly.

"I suppose that would make sense." Beast Boy added. "They caught the attention of both the Justice League and Checkmate now, the Brain probably won't want to make any more waves for a while."

The Titan's leader's communicator went off and he picked up the mask from its discarded location on the table and put it on before answering. "Go ahead Wonder Girl."

"Robin, we've done all we can here. We've cleared all the collapsed buildings, still no deaths." Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief. "Can you send Herald to get us?"

"Yeah, I'll send him back. Just give me a second." He disconnected the call and looked to Herald. "They're ready. Don't forget…"

"I am dropping Wonder Girl, Kole and Gnaark off here and the rest of us are going to Red Star's bunker. Got it." The trumpeter said before playing a note on his trumpet and stepping through dimensions.

"What's going on?" Beast Boy asked Dick as Kid Flash and Jinx walked back into the briefing room and took their seats.

Robin took the mask off again and sat down for the first time since lunch. "I am putting all Titans into a team until further notice. Herald, Red Star, Pantha, Hot Spot and Argent are going to be stationed at Red Star's bunker."

"Why not have them stay here?" Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy was the one who responded. "Gathering all of the Titans in one place might be what they want. It would make an easier target. That could be why they mostly targeted lone members."

Dick nodded, "That and we still have jobs to do. We can't stop doing them just because of the Brotherhood."

"Fair enough. Who's gonna lead them?" Cyborg asked.

"Red Star. He has the most experience and no one objected." He said. "Kid Flash, Jinx, Wonder Girl, Jericho, Kole and Gnaark are going to be setting up a tower in South Dakota. Lead by Wonder Girl." Dick added seeing the question on Cyborg's face. Jinx scoffed.

"You know she hates me right?" Jinx asked.

Kid Flash shook his head, "She doesn't hate you. She just…"

Jinx held out her hand and counted on her fingers as she spoke. "Doesn't trust me, doesn't like me, doesn't want me on the Titans, thinks I belong in jail. Sounds like she hates me to me." She said putting her hand back down.

"She'll get over it." Dick said wearily, "That's why I want you to be second in command. You have the most experience leading, even if you don't want to do it again." Jinx only grumbled.

"Is that the "secret mission" Wonder Girl has been working on for the last few months?" The metal man asked.

Dick nodded. "The tower there is almost complete. I'd like you to go out there for a few days to get it fully functional."

Cyborg scratched the back of his head. "Well it's a bit sudden, but I can do that. Is it livable? We could go out there tonight."

Dick nodded again. "It is livable, and you can go out tonight if you want. Otherwise tomorrow would be good too."

"Nah. I'll go tonight. It's probably best to get them settled asap." Cyborg said standing.

The door opened to reveal Wonder Girl, Kole and Gnaark. "What about Checkmate?" Raven asked before anyone else could leave. "Unless you have forgotten they have Melvin, Tommy and Teether." She said angrier than necessary.

"I'm trying, Raven." Dick said sadly. "There is nothing we can do aside from breaking in and kidnaping them."

"Rescuing. They were already kidnaped." Raven cut in.

Dick shook his head. "No one will see it like that. I WILL say that when I talked to J'onn, he didn't seem to like that Checkmate had the kids, but he is hard to read."

Raven stood up and headed for the door. "Raven?" Dick asked.

"I just need to meditate. I won't do anything stupid." She said not stopping.

"What did we just miss?" Wonder Girl asked after Raven disappeared from sight.

"Raven isn't too happy with how today turned out." Cyborg said standing up. "You three are probably hungry, hey Kid Flash, you feel like making waffles?"

The yellow clad speedster responded with, "Of course I don't." smiling he glanced at Jinx, "Everyone likes waffles."

"Well alright. I need to get the T-Jet ready to take off again, but I will be up for some waffles too." Cyborg said letting Kid Flash take the group to the kitchen. Turning back to the room he looked at Beast Boy. "Hey BB, come give me a hand."

The green teen snapped back to reality at his nickname. "Huh?"

"I could us a hand getting the T-Jet ready. Wanna help?" The cybernetic man repeated.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Beast Boy said. Standing up, he followed Cyborg down to the Hanger bay.

"Richard?" Starfire asked carefully.

The man in question was currently sitting at the table with his head in his hands. "Yeah?" he responded quietly.

"I will not ask if you are the "okay" because I do not believe any of us are. But I do want to know how you are, so I will ask, how are you?"

Dick smiled. It always surprised him how easily she made him smile. Even in his darkest thoughts, and his worst nightmares, she was always there to cheer him up. "I'm tired Star. Very tired."

"That is understandable, you did not sleep last night and today has been very stressful. Would you like to go to bed? I for one would like to sleep in your arms." Starfire sat on the table next to where Dick was resting his elbows.

Picking his head up from his hands he looked at his girlfriend. "I would like nothing more right now." Starfire beamed down at him. "But I want to see Cyborg off first, do you mind waiting a little while longer?"

The tamaranian shook her head. "I do not mind waiting for you Richard. Perhaps enjoying some waffles will help pass the time?"

Dick chuckled, "Yeah, I think it would."

The two walked from the room hand in hand.

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

Cyborg and Beast Boy walked to the Hanger in silence. "So what do you need me to do?" Beast Boy asked as they walked up to the T-Jet.

"Nothing. Just figured you might want to talk." Cyborg said as he headed to the control console.

"About what?" Beast Boy said nervously.

Without looking up Cyborg responded, "Whatever you want to talk about; the weather, football, your parents, why Raven seems to be mad at you." He finally turned around and leaned against the computer, crossed his arms and gave his friend a neutral look.

Beast Boy scratched the back of his head. "I think she's mad that I stopped her from stopping Checkmate. I mean," He amended, "I know she is. I just don't know how to fix it."

Shrugging the metal man spoke. "Maybe you can't fix it this time." He continued when he saw the panic in Beast Boy's eyes. "What I mean is, you did the right thing. If you hadn't stopped her I would have."

Beast Boy sat on the ground and fell back sprawling his arms and legs out. "I know that. I just wish she wasn't blaming me."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it BB. She'll get over it. Honestly I'm surprised she's mad at you to begin with. She's usually more logical than that." Cyborg turned back to the console and continued preparing the T-Jet.

"I get it." Beast Boy said after a few moments of silence. "She's scared, and she's turning it into anger to help cope. I just wish I wasn't the best target."

"It's gonna be alright BB. We're gonna get them back." Beast Boy didn't respond, he just kept looking at the ceiling.

A few minutes passed as Cyborg worked in silence, but Beast Boy had a thought he had to voice. "Hey Vic?" He asked timidly.

The use of his real name caused him to look over at his friend. "What's up BB?"

A few moments passed as Beast Boy struggled with how he wanted to say what he needed to say. Opening and closing his mouth a few times he just jumped right in, "You ever think that we could have save all our friends if we had just killed the Brotherhood when we had the chance?"

The question had an almost paralyzing effect of the metal man and he dropped the tool he was holding with a clang. "That is a dangerous way to think Beast Boy."

Throwing his left arm over his eyes the green teen continued. "I know man, I know. It's just that, if they weren't still around, I'd still have the Doom Patrol and we wouldn't have lost five friends in one day."

Cyborg was silent as he wiped his hands on a towel. "I've thought about it. But then I remember that if we went around doing that we wouldn't be around to stop others."

"I guess." Beast Boy said, feeling better that he wasn't alone. "Shit just sucks."

"Yeah man, shit suck." Cyborg picked his tool back up when he knew Beast Boy wasn't going to continue.

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

An hour later left Dick, Starfire and Beast Boy watching the T-Jet take off for South Dakota.

"This may not be a good time," Starfire said suddenly as they all entered the common room. "But wasn't it Cyborg's turn to have "the night shift"?" she asked.

"Shit." Dick said throwing his head back.

Beast Boy headed over to the couch. "Don't sweat it man, I'll take his shift."

"You sure?" Dick asked.

"I guarantee I won't be sleeping anyway. I might as well." Dropping onto the couch he picked up the remote and switched the television on.

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything. I'm going to turn in early." Dick said watching his green friend flip through a few channels.

"I shall be going to bed as well." Starfire said floating over to the couch. She picked him up in a hug. "Good night friend Beast Boy."

"Good night Star." He said as she gently lowered him to the couch.

He turned and watched them walk out the common room door. Once he was sure they were gone, he shut the TV off and headed to the computer and spent the next four hours reviewing all footage and other news reports of the Brotherhood's attacks as he could. He knew he was just working, but his friends might worry that he was obsessing. And they would have been right.

It wasn't until two in the morning that he pulled himself away from the screen long enough to make a snack. He sat on the couch to eat the grilled tofu sandwich when he heard the door open. The lights had been turned off some hours ago and he sat mostly in the dark, but that didn't stop him from identifying the lavender scent that came to him.

Raven sat down on the far end of the couch and looked out the window at the starry night. Minutes passed as they sat in silence, neither wanting to break the tension. After finishing his food, Beast Boy put his plate in the dishwasher and sat back down exactly where he had been.

"I'm sorry." Raven said as he sat down. "I shouldn't have been mad."

Relived that it didn't sound like a fight was starting, he breathed a little more slowly. "You have every right to be mad." He said.

"Not at you I don't." He could see her rubbing her hands in her lap, a nervous habit she only did when she felt guilty. "You didn't deserve that."

He shifted on the couch to be a little closer to her. "It's alright Rae, I get it."

She shook her head, "It is not alright. I should not have treated you like that. I was just scared."

"I know." He said softly.

"I should have been in more control." She said firmly.

He moved over again, only a few inches between them now. "How many times do I have to tell you? Hold yourself to perfection and you will only be disappointed."

She looked over at him, even through the shadow of her cloak he could see a tear run down her face. "How can you always be so understanding?" she whispered.

He gave a small chuckle. "Because I've made every mistake in the book." He said with a sad grin. "Hell, I could probably add a few chapters to the book."

Raven lowered her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. Beast Boy was surprised at first but recovered quickly and reached behind her to put his arm around her shoulders.

"I love you Gar." She said quietly.

"I love you too Rae."

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

Heavy footsteps echoed through the sterile metal hallway, mixed with the sound of a low motor. Monsieur Mallah walked next to a black cylinder holding a jar at the top. "Master, our plans are going well. The attacks on the Titans went flawlessly and the prototype frequency jammers worked very well."

"Very good Mallah. How are our companions holding their end of the bargain?" The Brain's robotic voice asked.

"Elephant Man is not content with the room we have provided him. If I may, Master, I think he is more of a risk than he is worth." The gorilla said as they continued to walk.

"Noted. But his ability to take high powered shocks was instrumental. He will continue to serve us. When he has out lived his usefulness we will dispose of him." The Brain told him. "What of the others?"

Mallah nodded and continued. "I have heard little from Phobia, she seems to want privacy right now. Warp has been helping the good professor with the technical difficulties we have been having. As for the other female, well, she only cares for her Prince Charming. I must say that having pictures of the Titan everywhere in her room is disturbing to say the least."

The Brain gave what could have been a chuckle. "She is a very disturbed girl, but will remain loyal so long as we promise to deliver her love to her."

"Indeed. Immortus is going over the data we collected from the young villains we encountered along the way." Mallah said.

"The good general has always had an excellent eye for talent." Came the robotic voice.

Finally the pair reached a set of double doors that opened as they approached. "Professor Chang, how is the prisoner holding up?"

The old Chinese man stood in front of a large computer console entering numbers onto a small keyboard. "You will have to be more specific, we have three prisoners." He said with a smile as he gestured to the two tanks on his left.

"Ah, I see they have been delivered to you without trouble?" The Brain asked as he looked at the tanks. One containing Thunder, the other holding Lightning. Both of whom were attached to various kinds of tubing, suspended in a liquid of some kind and unconscious.

Chang finally turned around. "The blue one woke for a short time, but was too groggy to do any damage."

"Excellent." The Brain said. "But I was referring to the other prisoner."

"Ah yes, the traitor." Chang said as he lead The Brain and Monsieur Mallah through the lab.

"One cannot be a traitor if trust is never broken." The Brain intoned.

Chang looked back as they walked. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"The woman served her purpose. I knew from the beginning that she was passing information to Mento. In fact, I counted on it. So she did not betray me, because she did as I wanted." The Brain said.

"I see." Chang said, facing forward again.

A few minutes later the trio came to a door with a keypad next to it. Professor Chang stepped forward and entered his code, causing the door to open. Inside the room Madam Rouge hung between two pillars, her arms and legs stretched out and coiled around them. "Ah Madam you are as lovely as ever." The Brain said upon entering the room.

The woman lifted her head and glared at him. "I hope you die you talking trash can."

"Is that anyway to speak to your former master?" The Brain asked. "Professor, tighten her restraints."

A soft grinding noise was heard and the two columns rotated pulling more heavily on her limbs. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as her torso started to flatten out from the strain.

"It seems your information was correct. The attack against the Doom Patrol succeeded. Mento is the only one left alive, and even he will not last long." Tears fell from Madam Rouge's eyes. "Are those tears to mourn your love? Or because you are feeling the pain from your bonds?" The Brain asked. If his voice could convey emotion it would have been a very pleased tone.

"Fuck you." She said as the gears continued to pull her apart.

"Pity; though that does mean we have no use for you." He said almost smugly. "Did you know that the good doctor has discovered how to revert your body back to flesh and blood?" Madam Rouge's eye shot wide open, her body was almost completely flat now, with the exception of her head. "Professor if you would please." The Brain said.

"You may want to step back Master." Mallah told him.

"Indeed." The Brain said as he and the gorilla joined Professor Chang behind a thick layer of glass.

A tesla coil descended from the ceiling and delivered a strong shock to the stretched out woman. Immediately her bones popped back to their regular shape, bursting through her chest and spraying blood on the glass. The sound of continuous cracks came from the columns as her arm and leg bones broke into splinters shredding the flesh and causing it to tear. Her lifeless and bloody body fell to the floor in a wet *thump*.

"That was quite the show, Professor. Please have the mess cleaned up before you return to your work." The Brain said as he rolled back toward the door, followed closely by Monsieur Mallah.

"Yes sir." The old man said. The scene was gorier than he was used to, but it was better her than him.


End file.
